Brake head wear element



1941- M. s. JOHNSON 2,253,031

BRAKE HEAD WEAR ELEMENT Filed Feb. 26, 194p Irnfe nil 6r Patented Aug. 19, 1941 UNITED BRA-K-E HEA wEAitgg Malcolm s J ohnson, eh agpm gssigimmo Illinois Railway Equipment gqmpagx, m 111., aieorporation of Illinois: a H J w 1 Application' February 26, 1949, S 's 320 920.

1 seems, cigissget) f 'My invention relates to a wear plateor rebuilding element for the toes of brake heads and more particularly for the top toes of brake heads where most wear occurs; the elementbe'ing of wear resisting metal, adapted to be integrally united with the brake head toe, functioningas a tie bar or reenforcer for the upper end of the brake head, and also as a rebuilding element whereby the brakehead is restored 'to its original length and proper support for the-shoe provided.

The invention and its objects will be readily comprehended from the detailed-description of the accompanying drawing, wherein-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved toe plate, as viewed from "the rear and somewhatenlarged;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of abrake head showing the worn upper toes.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective View of the upper end of a brake head showing my improved toe plate applied.

Figuree-is a vertical sectional view of the upper end of a brake head having a tie bar with my improved wear element applied; a portion of a brake shoe being shown in dotted lines while the upper end of a shoe locking key is shown in elevation.

The invention relates to means for resisting wear on the toe ends of a brake head of a railroad car and in its specific exemplification consists of a. toe plate more especially intended for application to the top toes of brake heads where wear usually takes place as a result of the constant vibration between the brake heads and the shoes during operation of the cars.

The brake heads of railroad brake mechanism are generally made of malleable cast metal while the shoes usually are chilled cast iron and are supported by the top toes of the brake head. Due to the constant chatter which takes place between brake head and shoe considerable wear of the upper ends and front faces of the top toes of the brake heads occurs and creates increased play between the head and the shoe, producing more rapid wear whereby the overall length of the head is reduced to less than the prescribed dimensions required by the A. A. R. rules. When this condition is obtained, the brake heads must be discarded and replaced, thus entailing considerable expense and loss in time of car service.

My invention is designed to obviate these conditions and to rehabilitate or rebuild the brake head in a brief space of time by simply applying my toe plate to the worn toes of the brake head and welding or brazing the samein place.

The toe plate, in its specific embodiment as disclosed ih the-drawing, consists of a single element -of wear resisting metal formed to provide the verticail-ly disposed plate portion l'i] having a pair'of plan'e surfaces "adapted to be applied to the "forward ifaces l i of the top'toes of the brake head shown at -12. The plate, which is of length equal to the wldth'of the upper end of the brake head, is formed with the flanged portions 1 3 at its upper longitudinal side which are adapted to extendacross-the upper surfaces of the top toes of the brake head as shown in FigureB. I I

In order to conform more or less to the front face of the'brake head and the shoe locking key receiving groove l4 between the toe portions H, the plate 10 intermediate itsends is provided with a cut-out portion 1%5, extendingirom the upper longitudinal edge or" the elementto a predetermined extent and the intermediate portion of the element coincident with the cut-out i5 'is off-set toward the rear side of the element into a box-like recession defined by two side wall portions l6, l6 and bottom portion H, which is shown terminating at the rear in the perpendicular rib or flange IS; the specific formation shown and described being considered a preferable construction.

The recess or off-set is of less transverse depth than the depth of the locking key groove 14 in the upper end of the brake head so as to leave an unobstructed passageway for the locking key K whereby the shoe S is locked in place, as shown in Figure 4.

Brake heads are made with and without a tie bar between the base portions of the spaced apart top toes (the brake head shown in Figure 2 being without a tie bar while the portion of the brake head shown in Figure 4 is shown with a tie bar at T). The tie bars, on brake heads provided therewith, are generally formed integral with the lower ends of the spaced toe sections I l and hence below the point where the recessed or off-set porticn of my improved wear element enters the shoe locking key grooves 54 and allows the boxlike recessed or offset portion to rest on the tie bar, as shown in Figure 4; my wear element being adaptable to heads with or without tiebars. The box-like oii-set portion of the wear element forms a tie bar between the spaced toes of brake heads not originally provided therewith and constitutes a reenforcement for the brake heads wear plate is formed to substantially match the upper and rearwardly disposed ends of the shoes and hence are coextensive with the wear receiving portions on the top toes. This permits the rear longitudinal edges of the flange portions l3 to be brazed or welded to the unworn lip-like portions [9 of the brake head as shown at 20,

and the edges of the plate portions 10130 be brazed or welded to the perimeters of the toes ll,asshown at 2|. v

Theflange portions I3 are preferably formed with upper surfaces sloping slightly downwardly toward the rear to match the worn in slope of the upper surfaces of the toes; the flange portions l3 being shown of increasing thickness toward the front of the element to afford strength and to restore the brake head to its original length in keeping with the A. A. R. rules and thus permitting the brake head to be continued in service. V g

The exemplification shown in the drawing is believed to be the best embodiment of the invention which has been shown applied to the upper toes of a brake head where the greatest wear is encountered and this embodiment has been described in terms employed forpurposes of description and not as terms of limitation, as structural modifications may be made without, however, departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. Abrake head wear element composed of a single piece of wear resisting metal formed to provide a pair of plane surfaced angular portions at opposite ends adapted to extend across the upper and the forward faces of the shoe engaging toes of a brake head, while the intermediate portion of the element is offset rearwardly to engage in the shoe locking key receiving groove in the brake head. 7

2. A brake head wear element composed of a single piece of wear resisting metal formed to provide a pair of vertically disposed plane surfaces adapted to fit against the shoe engaging I plane surfaces of the brake head toes, saidsurfaces adjacent the lower edges being united by a rearwardly ofiset tie-bar forming portion adapted to extend into the shoe locking key groove in the brake head.

3. Abrake head Wear element composed of a single piece of wear resisting metal formed to provide a pair of vertically disposed plate portions having rearwardly disposed flanges at theirtops adapted to extend across the tops of the brake head toes, and a rearwardly offset tie bar forming portion whereby the plate portions are united. I

4. A brake head wear element composed of wear resisting metal formed toprovide vertically disposed plane'surfaced portions having rearwardly extending flange portions at the tops adaptedto extend across the front and the top of the shoe contacting surfaces of the brake head toes and an intermediate rearwardly offset boxlike portion adapted to extend between the toes at the top of the brake head. I V r 5. A brake head Wear element comprising a vertically disposed plate with a rearwardly dis posed flange at the top, said plate at itstop intermediate of its ends being cut away whilethe intermediate portion of the plate above the lower edge is rearwardly offset to provide a tie bar portion and upwardly disposed side walls adapted to extend between the top toes of a brake head. I MALCOLM S. JOHNSON. 

